Mustapha Gbande, Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has accused the former Nana Akufo-Addo-led administration of fueling the illegal mining menace that continues to plague Ghana’s rivers and forests.
Gbande argued that much of the environmental destruction could have been avoided if the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government had enforced proper reclamation practices.
“Do they think Ghanaians did not know that Akufo-Addo incentivized illegal mining? No control.
The lands minister didn’t have any plan. When they brought up a scheme called Green Ghana, they said we should go and plant trees. Let them show where they planted the trees in the last 8 years,” he said in an interview on GHOne TV with Emmanuel Agyemang as monitored by MyNewsGh.
Gbande stressed that no government can stop mining completely, but regulation and strict enforcement are key.
“We are not saying that people should not mine. We are saying that adhere to the protocol. If you have mined in an ordinary small-scale area without adhering to protocols, you should be arrested and compelled to reclaim and repair the land you have destroyed.”
He described illegal miners in protected areas as “environmental terrorists,” insisting that the NDC under Mahama is taking a tougher stance:
“President Mahama has launched a full force against what is illegal as far as mining is concerned. By the time the president ends his first term, we would have a story to tell.”
